This single frozen moment, beautiful now,
How long can it last?
Should spring come soon
These hopeful spines will sag,
Icy flesh will decompose,
Slurred shades of "Yes" will necessarily
Resolve into "Adieu,"
And other facets of this jeweled vision--
This plastic bottle's accidental gift--
Will be clear:
There are rooms and walls beyond this pane,
Solid surfaces on which this dream will melt,
Appliances and countertops financed
With the same hope:
Beautiful now, beautiful...now.
Maybe it's unfair of me, on such a day,
To pray so cynically;
To see the beauty of ice amid historic lows,
What does it show? Serenity?
We once looked backward over painful times
And saw the beauty of struggle
As the centerpiece of--framed blandly by--
Our present comfort;
Why should we, the gods of irony,
Choose any other way but to look out across the void
Through spectacles of Hope,
And celebrate the beautiful Now.
Thank you, Dr. King.
ReplyDeleteGood luck, Mr. President.
"Beautiful Now" reminds me of a warm and welcoming spring day many years ago when my husband and I took our two children hiking at a nearby state park. And I hated the fact that the day was beautiful, as if it would make up for the pain inside. My husband, Bill, was once again diagnosed with a recurrence of Hodgkins Disease.
ReplyDeleteThen I realized, the day was not the source of my comfort.
So, yes. Beauty should always be embraced no matter the circumstances.
I like this poem.